1Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to underwater breathing devices, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved compressed air breathing delivery system designed to allow a diver an extended degree of unencumbered shallow water diving.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many different types of apparatuses and methods which facilitate underwater breathing by a swimmer. Of those types of devices designed to deliver compressed or pumped air for breathing purposes, the self contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) which employs a compressed air cylinder attachable to a diver's body is the most widely known and used. In this regard, one or more compressed air tanks may be directly attached to a diver's back, and a so-called first stage regulator typically reduces a three thousand pounds per squared inch pressurized air supply to one hundred and forty pounds per square inch for delivery to a breathing tube. The free end of the breating tube has a second stage regulator mounted thereto and the second stage regulator includes a mouth piece to permit are delivery to the diver. By the same token, the second stage regulator operates to reduce the one hundred and forty pounds per square inch air supply to a breathable ambient air pressure.
While being functional for their intended purpose, conventional scuba air supply tanks are by necessity quite heavy and awkward to carry. A fully equipped diver wearing a wet suit and weight belt along with a single scuba tank may find himself carrying over one hundred pounds of equipment. Needless to say, this amount of gear is necessary for deep water dives; however, there has been an ongoing intense effort to reduce the amount of diver-carried weight--especially where shallow water dives of thirty feet or less are to be undertaken.
In response to this interest in reducing diver-carried weight in shallow water diving situations, a number of floating devices which supply pressurized air from the surface through a breathing tube down to a diver have been developed. In this regard, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,493 which issued to D. Mitchell on June 23, 1987. The Mitchell underwater breathing apparatus discloses a sealed, water-proofed container which is designed to float on the surface of the water and which has an inlet above the water and an outlet below. The outlet is adapted to be coupled to a hose which will provide air to a submerged swimmer, and the inside of a container houses a pump which couples the inlet to the outlet and forces pressurized air through the breathing hose. The pump is driver by an electric motor retained with a container. The Mitchell device is actually an improvement over floating snorkel assemblies such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,467,091, which issued to R. Aragona of Sept. 16, 1969, and U.S. Pat. No. 4.269.,182, which issued to B. Le on May 26, 1981. Both of these patents disclose snorkel tubes attacahed to surface floats with the snorkels being attached to long breathing tubes carried by the diver. As is well known however, snorkels have a very limited diving depth allowance, i.e., is virtually impossible for a diver to draw air through a snorkel at a depth greater than ten to fifteen feet.
While the Mitchell device may operate as disclosed, it apparently has met with little or no commerical success, as have its gasoline engine powered counterparts--most likely due to the complexity of design and expense of manufacture. Accordingly, it would appear that there is a continuing need for devices which reduce the amount of diver-carried weight during shallow water diving excursions, and in this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.